Chapter 40

Scarlett's POV

My consciousness flickered like a wavering candle flame, fading in and out.

The shot had come without warning. When I regained awareness, I felt only the pain in my back and the blood flowing out—nothing else.

In the moment I lifted my gaze, I saw Luke and Noah rushing toward me, but Alexander...

He just stared at me, completely indifferent...

When I regained consciousness again, the first thing I noticed was the pungent smell of disinfectant, that lifeless odor unique to hospitals.

I was lying in a hospital bed.

No, to be precise, I was lying face down...

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Emily's worried face, with moisture at the corners of her eyes.

"Scarlett, you're finally awake! You scared me to death!" Hearing Emily's concerned voice, I managed only to twitch the corner of my mouth.

That's right, we need to maintain the appearance of a mother-daughter relationship.

"What happened to me?" I closed my eyes briefly, my mind in chaos.

Emily held my hand, "Don't you remember? You were mugged on the street and stabbed in the back. Fortunately, a good Samaritan brought you to the hospital and saved your life!"

Mugged? Stabbed? I blinked in confusion, full of questions.

I was shot... how could this be?

Just as I was struggling to make sense of it all, Richard walked into the hospital room.

"Mr. Gray..." I called out, my voice terribly weak. I tried to prop myself up, but the pain from my wound was excruciating.

"Don't move, lie down," Richard quickly motioned for me to stay prone.

"The doctor said you were lucky. The wound didn't hit any vital organs, which saved your life."

"I've already requested leave for you from the company. Now, you just need to rest and not worry about anything, understand?"

"Alright," I answered softly, outwardly calm but my mind racing with thoughts.

Alexander must have fabricated this story to avoid complications.

But this was for the best—if Richard knew the truth, it would cause more problems. After offering a few more words of comfort, Richard left on business.

After Emily saw Richard out, she sat back down in the chair.

"Don't think that just because you're injured, you can stop trying to please him. I'll say it again, you'd better get pregnant with a Gray child soon and secure your position."

"I've heard everything you've said. If there's nothing else, please leave. I need to rest."

After sending Emily away, I finally had some rare peace and quiet.

But my wound hurt badly, and lying face down for so long was uncomfortable.

I tried to move a few times but couldn't get up. All I managed to do was work up a cold sweat.

Emily and I were only mother and daughter on the surface, so naturally, she wouldn't put much effort into caring for me. Richard did send a maid to help.

However, I didn't like having someone constantly hovering around me, so after dinner, I found an excuse to send her away.

In the evening, when the night grew quiet, my phone on the bedside table rang. It was George calling.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I answered. His worried voice came through, also carrying a deliberate formality.

"I heard you were injured. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I responded mechanically. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Harber. I'll return to work soon."

"Don't worry about work. Just focus on recovering. As long as you're okay..." After that, silence fell.

The atmosphere grew awkward. I really didn't want to continue the conversation with him and was considering hanging up.

As I was hesitating whether to end the call, someone snatched the phone from my hand and hung up.

I looked up in disbelief, meeting Alexander's eyes, filled with mockery and cunning.

In an instant, the anger I had suppressed in my heart surged upward.

"What are you doing here!" I exclaimed, my agitation causing the wound on my back to throb painfully.

"Of course I'm here to visit my little aunt-to-be." Alexander gestured for Luke to set down a fruit basket.

Luke was enthusiastic, speaking candidly, "Miss Smith, we owe you for this one. If it weren't for you, our Mr. Gray would have been the one in trouble!"

I wanted to roll my eyes at him. If it weren't for Alexander, I wouldn't have been dragged into this mess and wouldn't have been injured.

Alexander shrugged slightly and waved his hand, "Go peel an apple."

"Yes, yes, right away!" Luke said, taking the fruit basket into the bathroom.

Once Luke left, I didn't bother being polite anymore. "Get out!"

"Oh, you really think you're precious, don't you?" Alexander said with a smile, sitting sideways on the bed.

Because of my injury, there was a bandage wrapped around my wound, which was located...

To prevent the wound from being irritated, I wasn't wearing anything on my upper body, just a thin blanket covering me.

Alexander looked at my shoulder exposed outside the blanket, and his right hand reached under the cover.

As soon as I felt his cold fingers, I trembled.

"Alexander, what exactly do you want?"

I was feeling very irritable, and with my wound hurting, I was in no mood to play these forbidden games with Alexander.

"I just want to show my concern for you." His tone carried seven parts amusement and three parts feigned hurt.

Without warning, he lifted the blanket covering me.

My exposed skin immediately broke out in goosebumps as it contacted the air.

My injury was severe. Although the bullet had missed vital organs, I had still lost a lot of blood.

Alexander stared at the wound and asked, "Does it hurt?" His voice was unexpectedly gentle.

"What do you think?"

As soon as I spoke, I felt inexplicably wronged. My eyes blinked, and I almost felt like crying.

But in front of Alexander, I still managed to hold back.

"Let me help ease the pain..." I don't know if he was doing it on purpose, but even at a time like this, he still seemed intent on toying with me.

I didn't speak, burying my face in the pillow.

Behind me, Alexander's fingers wandered, lightly caressing my spine.

"Mr. Gray, the apples are ready, also honeydew melon, pears, watermelon... see..."

It was Luke's voice.

He lowered his head and quickly ran out.

I glanced over—impressive, an artistic fruit arrangement.

Alexander smiled and said, "Luke used to work in the kitchen of a nightclub."

I smiled too, about to say something when I heard Alexander say:

"This time, I owe you a favor." His unusually calm and reasonable tone caught me off guard.

After a moment of contemplation, I couldn't help but ask, "Who were those people?"

From their previous conversation, I had guessed they might be from Colombia.

Alexander let out a soft snort, seemingly thoughtful...

"You'll meet them again soon."